To The End Of The World
by Kafunanapa3
Summary: After picking up their newest crew member, the last known survivor from the Fall of Great Britain, who is on a path of revenge for their fallen comrades, the IMS SHIZOKU makes its way to complete its mission
1. Chapter 1: A New Arrival

This is my first attempt at writing a web story, so please forgive me if I make mistakes. And thank you for reading this, please enjoy.

_To The End Of The World_

_Chapter 1: A New Arrival_

… Pain… The agonising pain that had been assaulting his body for more than twenty four hours was finally subsiding.

But so was all feeling and he could feel his consciousness slipping, he had just finished relaying his final message back to Headquarters and removed his micro-bead headset, he could hear a frantic female voice calling and pleading for a reply from him.

'Sorry… Looks like I won't be able to keep my promise.' He thought to himself.

As he lay propped up against the bulkhead, he took out a photo, looking down at it he smiled.

'I'm coming home' he breathed.

Ever so slowly his head tipped forward on to his chest. The helmet he was wearing fell off, eventually it stopped by his feet, the camera that was attached had been knocked when the helmet fell and now faced his body, it relayed the scene before it to the monitors that played the feed.

The shock that everyone who viewed it received was tremendous. The micro-bead went silent for a second before the female voice, now cracked with emotion, frantically called his name.

'Ruisu! Ruisu! RUISU!'

The man with his senses becoming less sharp, only heard the faint calling…

'Ruisu! Ruisu…'

He only registered his name being called before everything slipped in darkness…

BK

_Eighteen Months Earlier_

Ichihara Haruka was stood on the bridge wing of her ship the IMS SHIZOKU gazing out to the harbour that the ship was birthed at, in the American Naval Base at Midway. Ichihara was by any standard a very attractive woman, at 21 years old she had her own command, which is very rare. With silvery/white hair that went halfway down her back when not tied up, she struck quite the image, along with piercing blue eyes, she was normally the talk of the base among the men. At only 5' 5'' she was one of the shortest among her ships company, but countered that with a fiery passion to tend to her duties and to the young women under her command.

She was pleased at how things had proceeded so far, even though the reasons were somewhat questionable. She had received orders to proceed to Midway and pick up the newest member of her crew, with as much haste as possible.

'Ridiculous.' She thought to herself.

No one person is important enough to have a ship sail to them instead of vice-versa. The other fact that annoyed her as well, was the knowledge that the new crew member was male in an all-female crew.

'This is going to cause problems.' Ichihara thought again.

Thankfully she hadn't told anyone, so no one in her ships company had any idea of what was going to happen. Of course rumours had sprung up, what with having to allocate separate accommodation and washing facilities, but Haruka had managed to quell them quickly enough.

Ichihara sighed heavily.

'What's the matter Captain?' A voice from behind asked.

'Oh nothing really No 2, just the fact that we travelled hundreds of miles just for one person.' Ichihara said as she turned around.

The origin of the voice had come from Tachibana Sanoe, the Executive Officer, XO or No 2 depending on who you were and what rank. Tachibana was a young woman of 20 years of age with just past the shoulder reddish hair, sparkling brown eyes, she was of average height at 5' 6'' and would normally make light hearted fun of her Captain.

'Ah I see, the mysterious new crew member from Great Britain.' Tachibana mused.

'You know as well as anyone else that Great Britain doesn't exist anymore and if you believe rumours, our new shipmate is the last of their people.' Ichihara replied.

'Indeed, still hard to believe a country as ancient and sturdy as Great Britain, once had sway over a third of the world 150 years ago, would be annihilated and purged from existence along with all their people.' Tachibana agreed.

'Well the higher you are, the harder you fall and Great Britain has fallen the hardest.' Ichihara said.

'This person must be something if they've survived the hell that was their country's downfall, I heard that they survived by literally fighting tooth and nail. I can't imagine going through all that and coming out sane, let alone volunteer for active service in a foreign navy.' Tachibana wondered.

'You may be able to ask them sooner than you think. Look.' Ichihara pointed.

An American Humvee was making its way to SHIZOKU, after 5 minutes it stopped near the gangway that went on to the flight deck.

'We'd best make our way to greet our new shipmate.' Ichihara announced.

'Aye Captain.' Tachibana said.

'This is going to be very interesting.' Thought Ichihara.

BK

Sakamoto Inoue was moving stores from the jetty to the ship when she noticed the Humvee, she had heard rumours that someone was joining the crew, but didn't know who. Sakamoto was one of the youngest members of the ship at only 18 years old. She had the usual abundance of youth, with playful green eyes which contrasted with her night black hair that went to the shoulder blade when untied, she was known for being loud.

Sakamoto noticed that a lot of the ships company was on the flight deck, wanting to have a look at the new shipmate. What she failed to notice was the step down from where the stores were left and promptly fell over, to the cheers of the crew.

A shadow passed over and the cheers suddenly stopped, Sakamoto looked up and noticed for the first time what had made the cheering stop. Standing above her was a man, he couldn't have been more than 22, he had hard hazel eyes, eyes like they lost the joy of life, and he also had a scar along his cheek on his left side. With short dark brown hair he looked intimidating.

For some reason Sakamoto felt pain for the man, she didn't know why but something about him just screamed that he had seen too much and needed a long escape.

What seemed like eternity to Sakamoto, the man leant over and offered her his left hand, she noticed the definition in his arm along with the tattoo, and it had some strange writing that she didn't understand.

'What is it? English? No it can't be Great Britain is gone.' Thought Sakamoto.

She took his proffered hand and suddenly found herself standing, the speed and strength with which he had pulled her up with was astonishing. What was more astonishing was the fact that with all that strength, it seemed completely controlled and gentle.

'Th-Thank you.' Stuttered Sakamoto.

'No problem.' Replied the man.

The voice was completely at odds with the man appearance Sakamoto thought.

'I haven't heard that accent before.' She thought.

Once she was stood up, she took stock of the man, and finally noticed how tall he was compared to her. The man must have been 5' 9'' maybe taller. Even though his black military fatigues hid much of his physique, she noticed how well built the man was, with broad shoulders and back, thick arms and thighs. Sakamoto suddenly became embarrassed by the fact that she was looking him up and down. Thankfully he didn't seem to notice, his attention was on someone approaching.

Sakamoto realised who was coming and quickly came to attention.

BK

Tachibana couldn't believe that Ichihara had tricked her. She voiced her opinion whilst they walked off the gangway.

'Why didn't you tell me?' She questioned.

'Along with the rest of the crew you didn't need to know about the exact details' Ichihara answered.

'So our new crew member is going to be our Chief Mechanic?' Tachibana questioned further.

'Yes and yes, quiet now, we're about to meet him.' Ichihara finished.

During this conversation, Ichihara had noticed the interaction between Sakamoto and the man, and couldn't ignore the fact that Sakamoto was looking him up and down.

'I must keep an eye on her.' She thought.

BK

Ichihara stopped 5 paces away from the man and Sakamoto, they both saluted, Sakamoto's was crisp and clean, whilst the man's was lazy and slow, which annoyed her slightly. Ichihara stepped forward and offered a hand shake.

'Welcome, I'm Ichihara Haruka and this is my XO Tachibana Sanoe of IMS SHIZOKU.' Ichihara explained.

The man didn't take the proffered hand and just looked at Ichihara and Tachibana with calculating eyes.

'I can tell that I'm not actually that welcome.' The man said.

'Why you…' Started Tachibana.

'My name is Lewis Samuel, if it's easier for you, call me Ruisu Samueru. Now if you don't mind I'd like to get unpacked and get to work on your propulsion system.' Declared Samueru.

Tachibana had a hard time controlling her anger, this man was everything she feared he would be.

'Samueru I don't take lightly insubordinate attitude, you either change your ways or don't board my ship.' Tachibana hissed.

At this Samueru laughed, it was a very cold laugh with no humour in it at all, and perhaps hadn't had any humour for a long time.

'That's hilarious, you really are something Captain. I know you have orders for me to board your ship, whether you like it or not, so you can't not let me on board. And one other thing, I don't really follow orders.' Replied Samueru.

Sakamoto was stood at the side awestruck, no one had defied the Captain before and gotten away with it. Without even realising it she asked.

'Why don't you follow orders Samueru?'

With that said, Samueru turned to Sakamoto.

She looked at his eyes and saw insurmountable pain and anguish, followed by anger and hatred. He breathed heavily before answering.

'I followed orders to the letter in my countries armed forces and they were decimated and exterminated.'

'What country was that?' Sakamoto asked before she could stop herself.

'Sakamoto! That's enough from you.' Tachibana hissed.

Silence followed for a minute after. Finally a voice broke the quiet.

'Great Britain.' Samueru said.

'What?' Said all 3 women together.

'Great Britain. That's where I last followed orders and that's where I lost everything and everyone.' Samueru repeated.

'So the rumours are true then.' Whispered Sakamoto.

A dark laugh filled the air.

'I don't know about any rumours but I am the last Englishman alive on this god forsaken planet. Now if you'll excuse me I'll be on my way to my bunk to unpack.' Samueru announced.

And with that he picked up his kit bag and walked past the 3 women towards the ship.

'Did you notice Captain?' Tachibana questioned.

'Yes I did.' Answered Ichihara.

'What? What did you notice Captain?' Asked Sakamoto.

'On the sleeve of his right arm, he had 2 badges. One was the Union Flag of Great Britain.' Replied Tachibana for Ichihara.

'The other was the badge of Great Britain's most elite black operations unit, the SBS. Both badges were soiled with blood and torn.' Finished Ichihara.

'That man has definitely seen too much of death and despair.' Tachibana noted.

'Indeed he has, but he will still follow my orders.' Replied Ichihara.

The 3 women watched Samueru walk to the ship, he had a prideful stride, but his shoulders were slightly slumped, as if bearing the world on them.

'Sakamoto, don't talk about what was said between us to anyone. Do you understand?' Tachibana said rounding on Sakamoto.

'Yes XO.' Replied Sakamoto with a salute.

'Good, now carry on with you were doing.' Finished Tachibana.

With that Sakamoto ran off back to the stores and started moving them to the ship.

'Let's go Tachibana, hopefully we can minimise the effect he'll have on the crew.' Ichihara declared.

'Yes Captain.' Replied Tachibana.

They both turned towards the SHIZOKU and headed for the gangway, thinking all along the way how badly this could all backfire on them if it got out of hand.

Thank you again for reading this, I'll have the next chapter out in a couple of days.


	2. Chapter 2: Troubling Signs

Hello again everyone, I managed to get this chapter out faster than I thought. Please enjoy.

START OF CHAPTER

_To The End Of The World_

_Chapter 2: Troubling Signs_

After his heated confrontation with Ichihara, Samueru wasn't in the best of moods. As he walked towards the gangway he could feel plenty of eyes on him.

'Can't blame them really, I am the only man on this ship. Fucking brass giving me this shit deployment.' Samueru thought darkly.

As he walked up the gangway, Samueru felt a jolt of pain in his shoulder that he had his kitbag slung over.

'Great. Really can't be dealing with this.' He thought moodily.

He made his way to the gangway staff with his ID card on show. After a quick introduction and explanation, he left and made his way to his quarters.

On his way he replayed the events of what happened with Sakamoto.

BK

Samueru had just gotten out of the Humvee, the driver had been thankful to be rid of his menacing passenger. As Samueru got his kitbag he noticed a young woman fall over with a load of stores. He made his way over to her, as he stood over her, he froze. The woman looked the spitting image of someone from long ago…

After a few seconds to collect himself he picked her up and that's when the irritating Ichihara turned up.

BK

By the time Samueru had finished replaying the event he was outside his quarters, he made his way inside and closed the door. The cabin was fairly small with a foldable bunk on the far wall, a wash basin to the left hand side and a work desk on the right.

'Quaint.' He thought.

Samueru dropped his kitbag on his bunk and massaged his shoulder.

'I might have to get this checked out.' He mused.

He quickly dismissed the thought and opened his kitbag, pulling out a pair of much worn dark blue overalls. The overalls were blank apart from a name badge and a much worn badge on the right sleeve that was embroided with a propeller and the letter 'M' underneath it.

Samueru undressed from his black fatigues and pulled on his overalls, a faint smell of diesel wafted from them, bringing back not so fond memories.

Leaving his cabin he made his way to the only engine room on board the ship.

Advances in technology had made human interaction with anything mechanical obsolete. Samueru had always distrusted technology and believed that nothing was better than human instinct and experience, so he was one of the very few skilled mechanics left in any naval service. It was also another reason why Great Britain had fallen, by leaving everything important to computers, no one had noticed what was happening until it was too late. Ruisu tended to blank that thought as it usually made his mood catatonic.

As with most mechanics, Samueru had his sleeves rolled up, which showed of his tattoo on his left forearm, which was a poppy field with a winding road going through it, the rest of the tattoo was hidden underneath the rolled up sleeve.

Samueru was near the engine room about to pass through a watertight hatch, when he noticed a woman coming the way. She was of average height at around 5' 6'', with chestnut hair in a bun and turquoise eyes that were behind stylish glasses, Samueru thought she could only be around 19 years old. She seemed in a hurry, he stepped to the side of the hatch so as to let her through, and she didn't seem to notice him and briskly walked past. Unfortunately she caught her foot on edge of the hatch and would've fallen if Samueru hadn't caught her.

BK

Fujiwara Rika only noticed something wrong when the ground started hurtling towards her. Suddenly she stopped and felt strong hands holding her right arm. Fujiwara turned round and looked into the face of the person who saved her from falling, she gave a small gasp as she noticed that her saviour was a man. What also shocked her was how cold his hazel eyes seemed, along with a scar across his left cheek he cut an intimidating image. Fujiwara unknowingly pulled away from the man. He let go and for a split second she thought she noticed a hurt expression on his face, but was gone too quick for her to really register it.

'Thank you for saving me.' Fujiwara said meekly.

'Not a problem, just be careful of the hatches in future.' The man said.

'What a strange accent.' Fujiwara thought.

'Sorry for asking, but who are you and why are you on this ship?' She asked.

The man didn't answer straight away and just looked at Fujiwara with an unreadable look on his face. After a few seconds he replied.

'You're not sorry at all.' He said.

Fujiwara was taken aback by that statement.

'My names Samueru Ruisu and I'm here because I'm your new crew member, as your one and only mechanic.' Ruisu continued.

When he said that, Fujiwara was shocked.

'New crew member?' She stumbled.

'Yes, that's correct, now if you'll excuse me I have to inspect the engine room.' Samueru stated.

With that he turned on his heel and walked down the passageway.

Fujiwara could only stare at his back, as she was rooted to the ground by how he had spoken and acted to her. She noticed that there was tension in his shoulders. She snapped out of her staring and continued with her original task.

'He scares me, I'll stay away from him.' Fujiwara thought.

BK

Samueru was appalled at the state of the engine room, he could tell that no one had been in to check on the equipment to see if it was running correctly for months. It always annoyed him how people could leave expensive pieces of machinery in such a poor running state. He set to work on fixing the more problematic defects, leaking pipes, broken gauges, corroded valve heads and broken lights. After that he set to cleaning the bilges and clearing all the rubbish that had collected underneath the deck plates.

All this took nearly 3 hours to accomplish, during the meantime though, Samueru had aggravated his shoulder and was now causing more pain than he could accept. With a rubbish bag filled to the top he left the engine room and disposed of it in the incinerator room. With all that done he proceeded to the sickbay.

BK

Kaede Sakura was sat at her desk in the sickbay. Kaede was one of the older members of the crew at 26 years old she was seen as a motherly figure amongst the crew, with auburn hair that was cut to shoulder length and clear brown eyes she was considered attractive and could be mistaken for a younger woman.

Kaede had just finished writing a medical report for a previous case when there was a knock at the door.

'Come in.' Kaede called not looking up from her report.

The door opened and someone came in and sat down at a stool.

'Now what may I do for yo…' Kaede started, suddenly stopping when she noticed the man sat on the stool.

'I came for a joining medical ma'am.' The man said.

'Ma'am? How old does he think I am?' Kaede thought.

'Ok then, pass me your medical documents, oh and call me Kaede, I'm not old enough to be a Ma'am.' She said adding the last bit with humour.

'If you so wish… Kaede.' The man said.

For some reason when he said her name, it sent a jolt through Kaede. She ignored it for the time being and looked at the documents.

'Name: Samueru Ruisu, Profession: Mechanic, Blood: B positive…' She read to herself.

What made her stop was his nationality.

'Can't be! That's not possible!' Kaede thought.

'Surprised by my nationality, Kaede?' Samueru noted with a cold smile.

'Honestly, yes I am.' Kaede replied.

'Well get used to it quickly Kaede, everyone on board will have to.' Samueru announced.

'Yes… Quite so.' Kaede slowly said.

'Now if you'll be most obliging and lower your overalls around your waist so I can do a physical check.' She added.

Samueru did as he was told and lowered his overalls.

Kaede was used to having to make people take of their shirts for the joining medical, but she wasn't prepared for what she saw next.

Samueru, with his torso bare was an impressive figure, hard muscle moved under lightly tanned skin. Kaede had to shake herself back to reality. That's when she noticed his tattoos, a full sleeve on his left arm that had a poppy field with a path winding into a sunset, on his left shoulder was a lone tree with a tombstone nearby with English words written on it, on his right shoulder was a samurai and cherry blossom with a scroll that had a death poem, on his right bicep he had a tattoo of the Royal Navy Ensign, another tattoo was on his ribcage on the right side with more English words and finally on the left side of his chest was a shield of 3 Lions, the Crest of the Royal Family of Great Britain.

She then noticed the multitude of scars across his body, ranging from small to large, some appeared to be shrapnel scars, others seemed to be knife cut and stab scars and what appeared to be bullet scars across his right shoulder, left side of his abdomen and one final ominous one that would suggest that he had been shot in the left lung.

Kaede took a breath and concentrated on the medical, she took her stethoscope out and checked Samueru's breathing, she asked various questions as she went along. She checked his pulse at his wrist and his pupil dilation with a pen light. After she finished everything up she posed a question to Samueru.

'Samueru, is there anything you'd like to tell me?' Kaede inquired.

Samueru had his back to her as he pulled his overalls back on, he stopped momentarily when she asked the question, but quickly composed himself.

'Might as well tell her.' He thought.

'My right shoulder gives me grieve every now and then, it's nothing major that I can't handle though.' Samueru said.

Kaede was sceptical about it not being a major issue, but she didn't press him.

'OK then, well that's everything done, if you need anything you know where I am.' She said with a smile.

'Thank you, I'll be sure to remember that.' Samueru replied curtly and promptly left.

After the door closed, Kaede sat down at her desk and started a quick search on her computer. She looked for any medical or military documents on Samueru, but only found 2 files, one was his initial medical file, which told her that he joined the Royal Navy at 16 years old. In it had a picture of a very youthful and fresh faced Samueru who was smiling a very innocent smile, completely different to the man who had just been sat before her.

'Far too young to be in the military.' She thought.

The other was a newspaper article, dated a month before the Fall of Great Britain, in it was a section about a skirmish between forces of Great Britain and it's enemy, supposedly a unit of 8 men of the enemy were attacked by surprise and destroyed in less than 20 minutes by Samueru and another man, who apparently died in the action.

Kaede was having a hard time processing this information, even though the information was very little, it gave her an insight to Samueru's past. She wondered why he was now on board the SHIZOKU as the Chief Mechanic. Her train of thought was interrupted by another knock at the door.

'I'll think about this more later.' She thought.

'Come in.' Kaede said with a warm smile as her next patient came in.

BK

After his joining medical, Samueru went back to his quarters and decided that a good weights workout was necessary to blow off steam. Changing into a pair of black shorts and a white form fitting vest, he headed towards the gym.

BK

Oka Miyabi had just finished her run, when she noticed a man walk into the gym. At only 21 she was the epitome of fitness and could outrun anyone among the crew, with blonde hair that came down to the small of her when untied and sparkling blue eyes, Oka was also the envy of the majority of the crew. She was impressed by his lean and muscular physique, with a wide back and shoulders, trim waist, thick biceps and quads, he could be mistaken for a cover model on fitness magazines. Oka herself being the Physical Training Instructor among the crew was known for her good figure. She then noticed his multitude of tattoos.

'Typical military man.' Oka thought to herself

'Might as well introduce myself.' She said to herself quietly.

Oka walked over to the man, who was in the middle of doing a set of dumbbell chest press with 40Kg dumbbells in each hand, after his tenth rep he slowly lowered the weights to the ground. She waited till he had taken a swig of water before she spoke.

'Not often you see people use the 40Kg weights.' Oka cheerily said.

The man looked up at her with calculating hazel eyes, he removed his earphones and let them dangle, Oka could faintly hear music coming from the ear pieces, and it sounded like he was listening to heavy metal.

'Normally that would be a warm up, but I don't see any heavier weights around.' The man said dryly.

'A warm up!' Spluttered Oka.

'Aye, nothing wrong with that, I assume.' The man said.

'Not at all, by the way I'm Oka Miyabi, nice to meet you.' Oka introduced herself and offered her hand.

The man looked at her carefully for a second, then smirked to himself.

'Finally I meet someone on board this ship who seems to mean what they say, nice to meet you Oka, I'm Samueru Ruisu and I'm your ships new Chief Mechanic.' Samueru replied and shook her hand.

Oka was somewhat perturbed by what he said, but didn't have time to think about it, as Samueru shook her hand firmly, she could feel his rough palm against hers.

'Well he's definitely got a mechanics hand.' She thought to herself.

'Well if you'll excuse me, I'm off to get cleaned up, I'll see you later Samueru.' Oka said as she left the gym.

Samueru nodded to her as she left, he put his earphones in and continued on with his workout.

BK

Around 2 hours later Samueru emerged from the gym all sweaty and proceeded to his quarters. Once inside, he took of his gym clothes and headed to the shower. After cleaning himself up and washing his dirty clothes, he headed to the dining hall.

As he approached he could hear talking and laughter coming from the dining hall. As Samueru walked in, everything went hushed and he felt every pair of eyes on him. Ignoring their stares he went to the counter and served himself, picking mainly meat choices, he walked to a table in the corner and sat down by himself. Still ignoring their stares he started to eat.

BK

Sakamoto looked at Samueru sat by himself and felt sort for him. People were whispering to each other, about their new crew member. Sakamoto felt a prod on her arm, she turned around to see Fujiwara looking at her.

'Why are you looking at him?' Fujiwara asked.

'Because he looks lonely over there, and I feel sorry for him.' Sakamoto replied.

'Well, he scares me a bit too much.' Fujiwara said quietly.

'Why? Didn't he save you from falling over earlier?' Sakamoto stated.

'Yes he did, but his eyes scare me, it's like he's lost his soul and he finds no joy in life anymore.' Fujiwara answered.

'Well I don't think so, I see something else in his eyes, like he's in pain from his past.' Sakamoto retorted.

'Oh stop fawning over him Inoue.' Fujiwara jabbed.

'I-I-I'm not fawning over him, now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to make our new shipmate feel welcome.' Sakamoto stuttered.

She went on her way to Samueru's table and placed herself opposite him. He didn't register her and continued eating, Sakamoto noticed how precise and careful he was with hands. Shaking her head slightly to bring her senses back, she took a steadying breath and spoke.

'Good evening Samueru, how are you?' Sakamoto asked.

Samueru didn't answer immediately as he was still chewing, once he swallowed he replied.

'You know it's rude to ask a question whilst someone has food in their mouth, it makes them rush their food to answer you.' He said curtly.

Sakamoto felt embarrassed and could feel her herself turning red.

'Sorry I didn't mean to be rude, I just noticed that you were on your own and thought you could do with some company.' She said timidly.

'I sat on my own, because I wanted my own privacy, if I wanted to eat with other people I would've sat at your previous table.' Samueru replied loudly enough for people to hear.

Sakamoto felt like she was digging her own grave with every word she spoke. Silence awkwardly followed, and she couldn't help herself but look at Samueru's face, especially his scar. Unfortunately for her he noticed.

'You want to know how I got this don't you.' Samueru said pointing at his left cheek.

'Sorry I didn't mean to stare, I just wondered that's all.' Sakamoto squeaked in reply.

'You apologise far too often, you should stop that before you start apologising for stuff you didn't even do. But back to the previous topic, I got this through a bad decision, let's just leave it at that shall we.' Samueru said dismissively.

Sakamoto was about to reply when the ships broadcast came to life.

'Chief Mechanic Samueru report to the Captain's cabin, Chief Mechanic Samueru report to the Captain's cabin.'

Samueru sighed heavily before he stood up, he looked down at the still seated Sakamoto.

'Don't ask too many questions, you may not like the answer.' He said with his eyes coldly looking at her, before walking away to deposit his empty plate.

Sakamoto was slightly shocked by what he had said, she didn't notice Fujiwara come over to her.

'You alright Inoue?' She asked.

'Hmm? Yeah I am Rika, by the way, I still think I'm right, his eyes show so much pain, he's lost everything at the end of the day.' Sakamoto said.

BK

Ichihara was sat at her desk when a knock was heard at her door.

'Come in.' She called and stood up.

A moment later, Samueru was stood at ease before her.

'Now you can probably guess why I called you up here.' Ichihara said dryly.

'I can fathom an accurate guess Captain.' Samueru replied.

'Good, this makes it easier, as you know, I'm responsible for everyone on board, and it's my duty. So when you arrive and declare you don't follow orders, I get slightly annoyed.' Ichihara said icily.

'You and I both know I have orders to have you on board here, but that's all I know, nothing more, nothing less. So can you enlighten me as to what your purpose is on board _my_ ship? She continued.

Silence followed for a minute, until Samueru replied.

'My orders from your Admiralty are to become your ships Chief Mechanic, to repair and maintain all your engineering functions. I'm also your Covert Operations Unit, you'll us me to attack ship and shore units.' Samueru declared.

'Covert Operations Unit? What just you on your own?' Ichihara questioned.

'I'm very good at what I do, if I have support from other members, it hinders my capability.' Samueru answered.

Ichihara looked hard at Samueru to see if there was any lie amongst his words. She didn't detect any misinformation from him, but he was holding something back.

'Alright then, so you have 2 roles on board this ship. I'm going to ask you one more thing. What is your motivation for joining a foreign navy?' Ichihara quizzed.

She noticed Samueru's back stiffen and a vein pulsed in his neck. Suddenly she became afraid of this man, the aura he was giving off was pure malice. After a moment, he breathed deeply and his composure returned.

'As the whole world knows, my home, my family and friends, everything I've ever known is gone from this earthly plain. Ripped away from my grasp, I was unable to protect even the ground I was born on. Hours before my country's fall, an order was given. It was to avenge the fallen and reclaim our home land from the invaders or die gloriously in the attempt, making it known that Great Britain fought to the end. I stand here now, ready to follow that last order and I will do anything to see that order accomplished, even at the cost of my life. You wanted my motivation, well there you have it. I want to destroy the invaders and take everything they took from me, I will annihilate the Belgalians and the country they come from!' Samueru declared, by the end of it he was shouting.

Ichihara stood rooted to the ground, never before had she felt such anger, hatred and murderous intent come from one person. Silence followed for few moments, in which Samueru calmed down.

'If that's all Captain, I'll be on my way.' Samueru said turning around to leave.

Before she could stop herself Ichihara asked

'How far will you go for this ship?' She said almost in a whisper.

Samueru stopped just before the door, he turned his head slightly to the left, and with a strange gleam in his eye he spoke.

'If it helps in completing my mission, I'll go to the end of the world for this ship.' He said darkly and with that he left.

Ichihara had to take stock of what just happened. Samueru's motivation was zealous in its nature and could blind him if he wasn't careful.

'I need to keep my wits about him for a while.' She mused.

BK

Samueru made his way to his quarters, once inside he quickly got ready for bed. When he was comfortable in his bunk, he thought about the day's events, and scolded himself for almost losing his cool with the Captain at the end. As he drifted off he thought about what needed to be done once the ship had sailed from Midway.

BK

During the forenoon, the SHIZOKU pulled in her berthing lines and set sail, everyone on board was working hard to make sure the ship sailed safely from harbour.

Down in the engine room, Samueru was working away at fixing more defects that had cropped up over the night. He felt the rocking of the ship as it left the break water and in to open sea. He heard the diesel engines change pitch as it took on more load, meaning someone had turned a piece of equipment on that drew a lot of power. As he continued with his work, he noticed a knocking from one of the diesels and went to investigate. As he opened the soundproof module that housed the diesel engine, he was horrified to see that the engine was almost jumping out of its shock-absorbing mounts. As he was about to turn around to inform the Control Centre, one of the cylinder heads blew its cover and sent its innards flying, peppering the soundproof module with twisted and broken metal. Samueru felt something slam into his right shoulder, which knocked him back, hitting his head on a valve handle he blacked out.

END OF CHAPTER

Thank for reading this chapter, this is only the second chapter but I found it quite difficult to write as there were quite a few aspects I had to write from. Anyways, I'll have the next chapter up soon


	3. Chapter 3: Memories

I like to think I'm getting better at this, but that's for all of you to decide. If you do see something wrong, please tell me. Please enjoy the read

START OF CHAPTER

_To The End Of The World_

_Chapter 3: Memories_

Samueru's consciousness slowly returned to him, he could feel a throbbing pain in his right shoulder. As he became more aware, he realised he was lying on his left hand side on the deck outside the diesel module. The module door was open and the diesel itself was silent.

Samueru gingerly stood up and looked down at his right shoulder, he groaned at what he saw. Protruding from his shoulder was a fuel injector rod, it had pierced about an inch into his flesh, and the wound itself was bleeding only slightly due to the heat of the injector cauterising the entry point. He tried to move his right arm and was greeted with a jolt of pain. Leaving his arm limp, Samueru walked over to the diesel to inspect the damage.

Looking from the module door, Samueru could see that the diesel was in a sorry state. The damage caused by the exploding cylinder head had destroyed the 2 adjacent cylinders as well, the module wall was peppered with shrapnel. Samueru could hear the slight ticking noise of metal cooling down and shrinking, he also saw steam rising from the ruptured cylinder heads from where the cooling liquid had boiled.

Samueru turned around and walked 2 feet to the nearest fire extinguisher, picking it up he headed back to the diesel, he used the extinguisher to douse the cylinder heads, thereby stopping any possibility of re-ignition.

'I can't be dealing with a fire now.' He thought to himself.

Samueru put down the empty extinguisher on the deck and headed towards the machinery space communications unit. That's when he noticed that no alarm had been raised and that no emergency team had been called. With anger welling up inside of him he picked up the phone that was directly connected to the Control Centre.

'Hel-.' The woman on the other side of the phone began.

'Don't give me fucking hello! What in god's name are you doing up there?! Do you know what's just happened in the engine room?! Are you even paying attention to what you are supposed to be doing?! I've just had a cylinder head explode on No1 diesel! Now send down a team to stand sentry on the diesel so it doesn't go up in flames again! Do you understand?!' Samueru said, bellowing every word.

'Y-Yes Chief! Understood, sending a team down now.' The woman on other end of the said with a terrified voice that sounded almost in the verge of tears.

BK

Fujiwara and Oka were both members of the ships sentry team, as they hurried down towards the Engine Room they stole a brief conversation.

'What do you think has happened Miyabi?' Asked Fujiwara.

'Hell if I know Rika, hopefully nothing too major, I don't want to be stuck in a cramped engine room, when I could be in the gym, working up a sweat.' Replied Oka.

'Yeah like you said hopefully nothing too bad.' Fujiwara echoed.

The sentry team was outside the engine room and started to descend the ladder. Fujiwara and Oka were the last members of the team to go down the ladder, they could both smell the unmistakeable odour of engine oil and fuel, and there was also a strange filmy mist hanging in the air that smelt oddly like sea water mixed with something man made. Once the whole team was assembled in the engine room the team leader made her way to report the presence of the team to the figure that was leaning against a diesel module. Fujiwara and Oka realised the figure was Samueru, both of them noticed something was different about him. Samueru turned his head slowly, looking her up and down with a critical eye. The team leader shivered at the man's cold stare.

'You all took your fucking time!' Samueru bellowed turning his body to face the team fully.

When Samueru turned, whole team reeled in shock. They all saw the amount of light cuts over his face, but what disturbed them the most was the injector rod protruding from his right shoulder and the amount of blood that was running down his arm, which was starting to collect in an ever widening pool.

Fujiwara knew that she was scared of Samueru, but looking at him now drove the fact home. He was clearly in a rage, all bloody and injured, yet he was still able to stand tall. She had heard the rumours about the last Englishman, about how he fought and fought even though everyone around him kept falling, about how he stood firm in the face of unending odds and even when his country finally fell from existence, he continued to fight even though it was hopeless.

'Yes, he definitely terrifies me.' Fujiwara thought to herself.

Oka was impressed by Samueru when she first met him in the gym, she felt something different now and didn't know what it was. The man standing before her was covered in oil, grease and blood, he had injuries all over him and something about him seemed to be purely primal. Oka felt something stir inside of her, something unthinkable popped into her imagination. She shook her head and quickly banished the thought.

'I need to concentrate at a time like this.' Oka thought.

Both women were shaken back to the present by Samueru's commanding voice.

BK

'I asked you, what took you all so fucking long.' Samueru repeated.

'We… Uh… We were just… Um-.' The team leader tried to say.

'I don't give a shit what you were doing! Now all of you follow me.' Samueru instructed and with that he turned on his heel.

The sentry team followed Samueru until he stopped outside the diesel module.

'Now all of you look inside.' Samueru declared.

The team all took turns looking through the door, every one of them saw the damage that had been caused and all of them noticed the thin wisps of steam emanating from the buckled cylinder heads. Once they had all taken a look Samueru started giving instructions.

'I want you all to stay sentry on this while I go fetch the tools and replacement parts to fix this diesel. If it decide to catch fire again, I want you to put it out as fast as possible.' Samueru instructed.

'Samueru aren't you going to go to the sickbay?' Asked Oka before she could stop herself.

Samueru just looked at Oka flatly. Then without warning he grabbed the impaled injector rod with his left and pulled. There was a sickening wet sound as flesh and blood dragged against metal, the noise made all the women cringe. When the injector rod finally came out with a final pull, blood flowed from the wound freely, Samueru got hold of a clean rag and made a makeshift bandage, which he used to bind his wound. After making sure the makeshift bandage held, Samueru inspected the injector rod. It was covered in his blood and flesh, but apart from that it was still in working order. With a slight flick of his wrist, which sent an arc of blood on to the floor and removed the majority of the blood off the injector, he grabbed another rag and wiped the injector clean. Once finished he laid it on a worktop.

'See, don't need to go now, do I?' Samueru smiled coldly.

Oka was stunned, she had never seen anyone do what Samueru had just done. She had expected him to grunt and swear in pain. He had shown no pain, no emotion, nothing, just calculating movements as if it was the same as brushing ones teeth. Oka just continued to stare at Samueru in disbelieve.

'I thought I told you to stand sentry on that diesel Oka.' Samueru growled.

'Ah yes, right on it.' Oka stuttered and hurried off to join her team.

With all that done, Samueru turned towards the ladder and started climbing, it was a little more difficult to climb with only one arm. Once he was out of the engine room he headed off towards the workshop to collect tools and spare parts, he kept getting stared at as people walked past.

'Well I am cutting quite the image, only my second day on board here, and I'm covered in blood.' Samueru thought to himself with dark humour.

Samueru reached the workshop, and was immediately dismayed at what he saw. All the chest of draws were in a haphazard state with no co-ordination or filing system, tools were left out of worktops and some were even broken beyond repair. All the spare parts were piled in to a separate corner, with no consideration to their contents. Samueru sighed heavily.

'This is going to take a while.' He mumbled.

BK

Fujiwara and Oka were standing together in the engine room with the rest of the sentry team, they were idly chatting to pass the time by. The subject of their conversation was undoubtedly about Samueru.

'I can't believe he spoke to you like that.' One young woman said to the team leader.

'Yeah, that was completely uncalled for.' Added another.

Oka disagreed with these sentiments and voiced her opinion clearly.

'I think he had every right to be angry, you all saw the state he was in. And from the damage of the engine you can clearly see what happened.' Oka argued.

'Let's not fight between ourselves please.' Fujiwara pleaded.

'Give it a rest Rika, Miyabi's only arguing because she's got the hots for Samueru.' Countered the 3rd member of the team.

Oka blushed deeply at the remark, but stood her ground.

'You can think what you like, but if you look away from the module door there's a pool of blood. From what I can guess, the engine exploded and threw Samueru back, knocking him unconscious, which also explains the shrapnel wounds and the rod in his shoulder.' Oka countered.

'I kind of have to agree with the others, Miyabi, yes he was injured but he didn't have to be so cruel to the team leader.' Fujiwara said timidly.

'I can't believe you Rika, just because you're scared of him. Besides you would all feel the same if you were in his position. Imagine going through what he just did, and finding out that no alarm had been raised. I'd be pretty angry as well.' Oka said swiftly.

'No one cares Miyabi, the man is a brute, I don't know how he got assigned to this ship, but I'd wish he'd leave.' The 2nd woman said vehemently.

'I may be a brute, you don't need to know why I'm here and I'm not leaving for a while young lady.' A voice said from behind them.

The whole team jumped in surprise at the voice. They slowly turned around to see Samueru with a bag of tools and a box full of spares.

'I didn't mean it like that Chief.' The 2nd woman said quietly.

'Yes you did. And I can't blame you for it. Let me tell you a little story while I work on this job. Oh by the way you'll all be staying here until I finish, as punishment for not turning up earlier. Be thankful that's all you're doing.' Samueru said with a cold smile.

The 2nd woman blanched white at Samueru's words and the whole team was silent, they nodded that they understood the punishment that they had just been dealt.

Samueru opened his bag of tools and pulled out a 24mm opened ended spanner.

'Now shall we begin ladies?' He said with a dark smile.

BK

Samueru began by unbolting all the damaged parts and putting them to one side, this took nearly an hour, which most of it was in silence. He still hadn't told his little story and the sentry team were on edge for any word he said.

When the final damaged part was put to the side, Samueru took a step back and stretched his back, he shook out his left arm to stop it from cramping. He bent down and picked up a bottle of water that he had brought down with him earlier and took a swig. After his drink he turned to the sentry team.

'Why are you all standing?' He quizzed.

The team stared blankly at him.

'Even when I have only one arm to use, you're all still useless to me, so you might as well sit down.' He concluded.

The sentry team did as he suggested and sat down on the deck, some sat cross legged, and others leaned back against the bulkhead.

Fujiwara was still curious as to what story Samueru had to tell and couldn't help herself but ask.

'Samueru, what's this little story you were going to tell us?' She said timidly.

'Ah yes, the story in why I'm angry about the fact you didn't turn up. And because I got angry and shouted, I'm a brute.' He said laughing dryly.

The 2nd woman blushed deeply and hid her head behind her knees.

Samueru picked up a new part from the box and started fitting it in to the chamber of the cylinder housing.

'This story happened a few years ago, I won't tell you where, cause it doesn't matter. I was working in a similar engine room to this one, with an old friend of mine. It was late at night and we were working on the fuel transfer system, we had nearly finished when we heard this creaking noise. Next thing we know the high pressure air pipe which was above our heads, ruptured, and 280 Bar of air pressure hit my friend in his left leg. 280 Bar is a lot of pressure, and cause of this my friends had his left leg completely severed.' Samueru recounted with a quiet voice.

All the women were enraptured by this story, it was the first time that Samueru had spoken about his past.

'Obviously my friend was shouting and swearing like hell. I knelt down by what was left of his leg and pinched his femoral artery closed to stop him bleeding out. Now I couldn't go over to the communications booth to contact the Control Centre, because to do so, I would've been condemning my friend to die. So we waited for them in the Control Centre to notice the drop in pressure and send someone to investigate. We waited 10 minutes and no one came at all, by this point my friend was on the verge, we both knew it, yet I couldn't do anything about it.' Samueru continued his voice was getting darker by the moment.

Fujiwara could picture the horrid scene in her imagination, and didn't think she'd be able to do what Samueru did.

Samueru had gone silent for 15 minutes, he was working at a steady rate and would be finished within 2 hours. He sighed deeply and continued.

'I waited another 5 minutes to see if anyone would come, still no one turned up, and by this point my friend was gone. I let go of his artery and stood up. I didn't go to the communication booth as my hearing was gone, having had high pressure air escaping nearby me for 15 minutes had ruptured both my eardrums. So I climbed out of the engine room and made my way to the Control Centre. When I walked through the door I saw that the person manning the CC was fast asleep. Obviously I was somewhat angry and I did more than shout back then. So think yourselves lucky that I'm letting you away with just sitting there.' Samueru finished his story, his voice was unreadable by that point and the woman couldn't tell what he was thinking.

Oka thought about all that Samueru had said and found it hard to digest it all. She knew the man standing before had faced hardship, if you believed what the rumours said. But to have had to pinch an artery to try and save a friend and for it to be for nothing was a horrible idea to her. She know looked at Samueru in a new light and would think twice before saying anything to him.

Fujiwara was thinking along the same lines as Oka, but she still had reservations about Samueru. She still thought he was scary but now she wouldn't be so quick to dismiss him.

The rest of the team thought the same, and had rethought their opinions about Samueru.

BK

An hour and a half passed in silence, with just the noise of Samueru working away on the engine. With his eyes fixed on the job at hand he spoke.

'I vowed that day, that if anything like that happened again, I would personally deal out the punishment.' He announced.

'How come our punishment was to watch you work Chief?' The team leader asked.

'It would've been worse if someone else was with me and they got injured instead of me. But thankfully for all of you, I was by myself and I don't care what happens to me.' Samueru replied.

'You don't care what happens to you? Surely there's someone who cares for you.' The team leader blurted before she could stop herself.

The noise of working stopped abruptly inside the module. Samueru appeared at the module entrance, he looked down at the sentry team. They fidgeted under his gaze, uncertain of what he would do.

'Someone who cares for me? I don't have anything like that anymore, everything was taken away from me, family and friends have no meaning to me, I don't need such things anymore. They'll only hold me back from what I need to do.' Samueru said with a sad smile and turned back to his work.

All the women looked at the team leader with looks of incredulity. She shrank back from the looks, knowing she shouldn't have blurted such a question.

BK

Another half hour passed before the job was finished. After collecting all the tools and damaged parts from the module, Samueru closed the door and started the engine for a running check, to make sure that everything was in working order. Once he was satisfied that everything was fine, he told the sentry team to take up all the tools and parts up the ladder. Once they were all out of the engine room, they made their way to the workshop.

Once they were inside the workshop, they started to put the tools away, under Samueru's instruction.

'Those spanners go in that draw.' He told Fujiwara.

'The pots of crease go in the hazardous substance locker.' He told the team leader.

'Oka those go over…' Samueru tried to say, but he suddenly felt light headed, his vision started to blur and his legs started buckling.

'Samueru?' Asked Oka in alarm.

'Oka those…' Samueru tried again, this time his legs gave way fully and his knees hit the floor. He swayed slightly then tipped forward on to his face, blacking out before he hit the floor.

'Samueru? Samueru! Ruisu!' Oka cried as she rushed to his side.

END OF CHAPTER

Thank you for reading, I'll have the next chapter out soon


	4. Chapter 4: Innocence Lost

My apologies for being so late with this chapter, work got in the way so many times. As always please enjoy the read, and please give feedback in anything you see wrong.

Start of Chapter.

_To The End Of The World_

_Chapter 4: Innocence Lost_

Oka watched in horror as Samueru collapsed. She had noticed his laboured breathing when they had left the engine room, he had also been very pale and sweating. He had been about to tell her something when his knees buckled. Oka saw it happen in slow motion. Samueru had a blank look on his face when he started falling. When his knees hit the floor, he wavered slightly before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he pitched forward on to his face. He didn't even put his hands out to slow the impact.

Oka stared in silence before springing into action.

'Samueru!' She shouted, running to his side and turning him on to his back.

'Samueru!' She shouted again. She looked around at the others gathered, they were all in shock and rooted to the floor.

'Someone get Kaede here. Now!' Oka urged at them.

Fujiwara jumped to life and ran out of the workshop.

'Samueru, wake up!' Oka pleaded, shaking his left shoulder.

xxxxx

Kaede was sat at her desk in the sickbay when Fujiwara burst in.

'Wha-.' She started to say.

'Kaede, come quickly its Samueru.' Fujiwara interrupted.

Kaede didn't immediately register what was said. Samueru had only been in her sickbay a day ago, all fit and healthy if somewhat stubborn. She shook herself into action, standing up she grabbed her medical kit bag and hurried out of the sickbay with Fujiwara in tow.

Kaede wondered what had happened, she asked Fujiwara the situation.

Fujiwara gave a quick account of what happened.

'We got down to the engine room and saw Samueru standing there, we saw that he had been injured, but he refused medical treatment. He focused on fixing the diesel and after he finished we went back up to the workshop to clear up. That's when it happened, he just collapsed.' She said with a strained voice.

'What injuries did he have?' Kaede asked.

'He had cuts on his face, and he some sort of metal rod piercing his right shoulder, he removed it himself though.' Fujiwara answered.

'He removed it himself?' Kaede echoed.

'Yeah, it was horrible to see.' Fujiwara added.

'Ok, I see, let's hurry up.' Kaede finished.

With that both women sped up their pace to get to the workshop.

xxxxx

Oka was still trying to wake Samueru when Kaede arrived. Kaede quickly went to Samueru's side, facing opposite to Oka.

'Everything's fine now Miyabi, I'll take over.' Kaede gently said.

Oka looked at Kaede with pleading eyes before she stood up on unsteady legs. Fujiwara went over to her.

'Come on Miyabi, let's get out of the way.' Fujiwara persuaded.

Oka nodded slightly, she was still looking at Samueru's prone body. She felt terrified and helpless at the same time. She hoped that he would be alright.

xxxxx

Kaede quickly went to work, she started her primary check and lightly placed her hands on his body to check for contusions and broken bones. It only took her a minute to do this, and she was satisfied that there were no other injuries. She then looked at the most obvious wound in his shoulder, everything on his right hand side, from his shoulder to his waist was drenched in blood. Kaede turned to face the sentry team.

'Get me a stretcher now!' She shouted at them.

Two members quickly disappeared from the workshop in search of a stretcher.

Kaede turned back to Samueru. His breathing had become shallower, he had gone very pale and he was shivering slightly.

'I need to look at how bad this injury is.' She thought.

Kaede gently took hold of the front of Samueru's overalls and opened the front. She didn't have time to notice the reactions from Oka and Fujiwara, who gasped in shock at the state of his body. As before, when he had come to the sickbay for his medical, his torso was heavily scarred. Only this time there was plenty more blood and a ragged puncture wound in his right shoulder.

'His right shoulder isn't going to last long at this rate.' Kaede thought.

Heavy footsteps announced the return of the sentry team with the stretcher.

'Open it up and set it down there, quickly.' Kaede ordered.

Once the stretcher was open and ready, Kaede stood up and called the sentry team.

'Ok, I'm going to need your help to put Samueru on the stretcher, it'll be slightly difficult as he weighs 85kg, much more than any of us can handle.' She announced.

'Oka, I want you to lift his right shoulder and head. Fujiwara, I want to lift his left shoulder. You two, grab a leg each. I and you will lift his waist.' Kaede ordered.

They quickly got into position at their respective places.

'Ok, we'll lift on my order. Two, Six, Heave.' Kaede called.

At the order, all the women took Samueru's weight evenly and carefully placed him onto the open stretcher.

'Good, Fujiwara help me with the stretcher. You three, clean this place up.' Kaede said firmly.

Fujiwara obeyed with a nod and got ready to lift the stretcher with Kaede.

'Same as before. Two, Six, Heave.' Kaede called.

As they took the weight of the stretcher, something fell out from one Samueru's pockets.

'Oka pick that up and bring it with you.' Kaede said hurriedly.

Oka picked the object up and realised that it was a leather bound notebook. From its appearance it was quite old and worn. In some places the leather seemed to be stained.

'Ok, let's quickly get to the sickbay, I want to get him cleaned up.' Kaede called.

With that, the three of them hurried out of the workshop, leaving the rest of the sentry team to the unenviable task of cleaning up the dark pool of blood.

xxxxx

After setting Samueru down on the sickbay bed, Kaede went to work on cleaning the wound and checking for infection. She asked for occasional help from either Oka or Fujiwara, but mainly they just stood to the side waiting for Kaede to finish.

It seemed like hours had passed, when Kaede announced that she was finished.

She backed away from Samueru, who was still unconscious on the bed, and turned to face Oka and Fujiwara.

'I wish that he hadn't been so stubborn, he should've come to me as soon as it had happened, instead of playing the martyr.' Kaede said annoyed.

'We tried to get him to go, but he point blank refused, saying that fixing the diesel was more important.' Fujiwara replied.

'Well either way, he's here now and he should regain consciousness soon. You can leave now if you like.' Kaede said to both of them.

Fujiwara turned to leave but noticed that Oka wasn't moving.

'Miyabi? Everything alright?' Fujiwara asked.

'Hmm? Yeah, I've just got to ask Sakura something. Leave without me, I'll follow you soon.' Oka replied.

'Ok, try not to be too long.' Fujiwara said a little annoyed.

Fujiwara left the sickbay and made her way to her room. Once she was inside and closed the door she leaned against it with a heavy sigh.

'Don't do anything stupid Miyabi.' She muttered.

xxxxx

Kaede noticed that something was bothering Oka by the way she was standing. The normally confident Oka, seemed to be very nervous at the moment.

'What's the matter Miyabi?' Kaede asked.

It took a few seconds few Oka replied.

'Well… It's just umm… It's just that when you and Rika were carrying Samueru here, I read a bit from his notebook…' Oka replied.

'Aside from the fact that you read someone's private material, and that you can read it, what's gotten you so nervous?' Kaede retorted.

'It's just that I naturally read from the beginning…Plus it's written in Japanese… It seems to be a diary of some sorts… But it's dated nearly 6 years ago…' Oka replied quietly.

It took a fraction of a second for the information to register. Kaede was suddenly very interested in reading the book.

'Apart from the fact that it's nearly 6 years old, the mental image I see of Samueru 6 years ago is vastly different to who we see now.' Oka continued.

Kaede's thought process was going into overdrive. The temptation of finding out more about Samueru was almost unbearable, but it was being outweighed by the fact that in that book was possibly information that Samueru didn't want anyone knowing.

'No, I really shouldn't be contemplating this…' Kaede thought.

'But then again, if I knew more about him, I might be able to figure out what he's here for and therefore more able to support him and in the worst case, defend the crew from him.' Kaede's thoughts continued.

'Ok Miyabi, I'm only going to say this once, but if we do read this notebook, whatever we may read will not leave this room, do you understand?' Kaede questioned.

Oka was having a hard time dealing with the proposal, on one hand she wanted to know more about Samueru, but on the other she wanted to put the book back and not read any more.

'Just from reading that first page, the Samueru then is so much more different to how he is now.' Oka thought.

With a slow nod, Oka handed the notebook over to Kaede. Kaede set the notebook down on the desk, putting it into a position where they could both read it, and opened up to the first page.

xxxxx

_May 18__th__ 2067_

_FINALLY! I'm in basic training! This is the best thing that could happen! I've waited 2 years to get here! It's a bit strange though being in a room full of guys who I don't know. I hope we get along. Ah well, best not linger on it too much. I'm going to give it my all! I'm going to protect my country, my family and my friends! No matter what!_

_June 1__st__ 2067_

_It's been two weeks since starting basic training for the Royal Navy, I've passed everything so far, so that's good. We had a couple of people leave, because they felt like the Navy wasn't for them. Everyone is bonding quite well, we've all got our own nicknames for each other. Mines Sammy, very imaginative haha. Only 6 weeks left of this, got rifle drill in 2 weeks, can't wait!_

_June 15__th__ 2067_

_We're at the halfway point! We all passed rifle drill. I barely passed, nothing to worry about. I'll make sure to improve! We're definitely a unit now, we help each other out with anything. I'm quite good at bulling boots, Dave is good at ironing. So we all pitch in to help each other. I can't wait to see my family when this is over! I want to make them proud!_

_June 29__th__ 2067_

_Only 2 weeks left to go! We feel like senior recruits, we're even looking after the recruits behind us! It feels good to help out people. Mind you some of them are funny with me, they don't take me seriously because I'm only 16, I don't mind though, I mean I wouldn't take a 16 year old seriously either haha._

_June 13__th__ 2067_

_Basic Training is over! I'm finally no longer a recruit! We all passed out from here! I was so happy to see my family, I almost cried with joy! They looked so proud, they gave me a watch as a present for passing out! I'll keep this watch forever! I'm a bit sad though, we'll be saying goodbye to some of the guys, and they'll be doing their specialisation course at a different base. Hopefully be able to see them again._

_July 25__th__ 2067_

_It's been a month since coming to our new base for Phase 2 training, as it's called. I'm learning so much about engineering, I can't possibly fit it all into my head! Went to the beach with the guys over the weekend, the weather was lovely! It was a good day, they all got quite drunk. There's a couple of other under 18's in our unit, so we kind of do our own thing when they get too loud._

_September 19__th__ 2067_

_I'm 17! We spent all week in Wales doing leadership exercises. I'm a bit upset that I couldn't ring my sister to wish her a happy birthday. I'll do it after finishing writing this! We're coming up to halfway now on Phase 2 course. I wonder what ship I'll get._

_December 12__th__ 2067_

_Today we passed Phase 2 training! I'm now a Marine Engineer! Sounds fancy doesn't it! Ryan and I are going to HMS SOMMERDALE, it's good that there'll be someone on the ship I know, I won't feel like such a lost sheep. We go on Christmas Leave today, be nice to spend 3 weeks with the family, before joining the ship._

_January 5__th__ 2068_

_Joined SOMMERDALE, it's strange being on a ship, especially a warship, it's a Frigate so it's quite small, but there's nearly 200 people on board. Been told that the ship will be going through damage control exercises for 6 weeks. I can't wait! It means I'll be able to learn and be of use!_

_February 25__th__ 2068_

_I managed to ring my family yesterday to wish my mum and sister a happy birthday. I'm quite tired after those 6 weeks, but I feel more ready to take on anything that happens! We've been told that we're going on a Far East deployment! I can't wait! They say your first deployment is the best!_

_March 11__th__ 2068_

_We got the news today. We're going to war with Belgalia. I'm kind of scared. But I don't want to let my friends down. Everyone's been joking about how the Marine Engineers are the only ones to stay with a ship when it sinks. As we're the only ones in the Engine Rooms. Whatever may happen I will protect this ship and my friends!_

_March 20__th__ 2068_

_The combined fleet is sailing to intercept the Belgalian Navy in the North Sea. We're in action stations at the moment, I'm in the Upper Engine Room. We try and sleep when we can. We do any maintenance that is possible. I'm still slightly scared. What will I be like when it starts? Will I freeze? Will I be able to protect my friends? As long as I can do that I'll be happy. Haven't been able to speak much, due to the noise. I'm in here with Davies. We make hand gestures to get our point across when we want to say something. This waiting is killing me…_

_March 23__rd__ 2068_

_Our combined fleet was crushed, we no longer have a viable navy. 120 sailors lost their lives when the SOMMERDALE sank. Davies was one of them, along with Ryan, Nathan, Peter… So many gone. When Davies died I couldn't do anything, one second we were bracing for impact, the next thing I knew was that I was flying across the engine room. When I stood up I could see daylight from a massive hole, rain was pouring in, and Davies was in 2 halves on the deck… I also had shrapnel wounds to my body and I was deemed unfit for action. I felt fine though! Why didn't they let me fight! The SOMMERDALE didn't last long after that. The Gunners never left their posts, they fought to the end to give us time to retreat. It's slightly funny, most of the survivors were engineers, and the Gunners said we were more important than them even though they joked that we would go down with the ship. I don't understand why._

_March 29__th__ 2068_

_What's left of the Navy personnel have been formed up into squads, we'll be fighting on land now. The remaining ships have been blockaded in the ports. We're expecting imminent invasion, but we don't know where. The survivors from SOMMERDALE have been formed into a small platoon. I'm still the youngest here, but I don't feel young anymore. Why? Why am I alive? Why was it decided that I should live and not someone else? This time! This time I'll protect everyone!_

_April 3__rd__ 2068_

_The Commander of the platoon has given me 3 days off to see my family. I didn't ask for it, he just gave it to me. I'm glad that I'm home, I'm happy to see my family, happy in the knowledge that there alive and well._

_April 4__th__ 2068_

_I was out in the garden last night when my old man came to sit next to me. We talked about random stuff, shared jokes together. It went quiet after a while. He suddenly said to me. 'Son, it's not your fault.'_

_I didn't answer him and just sat there. After a few minutes he got up and ruffled my hair. 'We're all proud of you, you know that.'_

_He left after that. That was the first time I cried in a while._

_April 5__th__ 2068_

_These 3 days off flew by! I managed to get a family picture for my bunk. Plus took a new one with the family. After what my old man said, I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders. I will definitely protect them! I will protect everything!_

_April 15__th__ 2068_

_They've landed! They landed in the northern part of the country. We're managing to hold them back, but we're slowly getting pushed back. They've taken Newcastle and Cumbria. The Scottish brigades are faring decently, due to the terrain of the Highlands. Our platoon hasn't been activated yet. We're currently training in urban warfare. It's almost hellish. It's so confined and any mistake can lead to your death._

_April 22__nd__ 2068_

_The Scottish Brigades have been annihilated! Scotland is now under Belgalian control! They've set their sights on Ireland now. Our forces are holding them back, but we're losing too much equipment._

_May 6__th__ 2068_

_They've taken Northern Ireland! Liverpool has been seized as well! Our armed forces have been reduced to 64%. No matter what we do, we can't seem to hold them back._

_June 18__th__ 2068_

_Our platoon has been renamed. We're now the 52__nd __Assault Engineers of the Royal Navy Light Infantry. There hasn't been a RNLI since the Great War over 150 years ago. We're getting desperate for manpower. Rang the old man for his birthday. The family seem to be doing well._

_July 12__th__ 2068_

_It's been decreed that all units will have a standard bearer. They'll be used as a rallying point in battle. It's strange, when I see the Colours flying I feel uplifted. It's another thing brought back from a bygone age. It's been nearly 200 years since a standard was flown. Morale must be low._

_August 1__st__ 2068_

_The Belgalians seemed to have faltered, they aren't taking as must ground as before. Ireland was taken last week. York was also captured. But their momentum must have stopped. We can stand our ground now._

_September 15__th__ 2068_

_The Belgalians have begun carpet bombing cities of high industrial value. Thankfully Peterborough has nothing industrial nearby. I'll try and ring home and wish my sister a happy birthday._

_September 20__th__ 2068_

_Peterborough is gone… It was razed on the 16__th__, the day before my little sisters' birthday. I haven't heard anything from them. I hope they're alright._

_September 22__nd__ 2068_

_Dead… No one survived… My whole family gone… Why… I feel empty… I couldn't protect them… I'll never see them again… Forgive me…_

_September 23__rd__ 2068_

_A care packaged arrived… presents were inside… letters as well… wishing a happy 18__th__…_

_October 13__th__ 2068_

_Our forces are collapsing… Future looks bleak… Been pushed back from Cambridge… Had the same nightmare again… Their faces are all I can see…_

_November 19__th__ 2068_

_We've been activated… Going to the front line in London… I will kill as many as possible before I die…_

_December 2__nd__ 2068_

_London has fallen… It was hell… 52__nd__ Assault Engineers down to 24 men… Liam died in my arms yesterday… He cried for his mother… I don't feel anything anymore… Gotten used to the nightmares…_

_January 10__th__ 2069_

_Pushed back from Exeter… Lost another 8 men… We've been nicknamed The Forsaken… Only 16 men left from 182… We're all tired…_

_January 21__st__ 2069_

_4 more died… Jones was blown in 2… Was covered in his blood… Only 20% left of our armed forces… Our standard has been put in to safekeeping… Not enough men in unit to protect it…_

_February 5__th__ 2069_

_Command issued final order… 'No surrender, fight on until the end. God Save The King.'…_

_March 12__th__ 2069_

_Counter-attacked… retook Exeter… Lost Brian and Clarke… Guerrilla tactics being used…_

_April 28__th__ 2069_

_Our unit is the most experienced… Been fighting for a year non-stop… That's why we're good…_

_June 6__th__ 2069_

_Jamieson, Connors, Parker and Godfrey lost… All taken out by the same shell… Only 6 of us left… I'm numb… So tired… Want it all to end…_

_July 1__st__ 2069_

_I'm the last one left… Everyone is dead… We got ambushed… Took shrapnel and hit 3 times… In hospital… Want to get out of here and fight…_

_July 2__nd__ 2069_

_Everyone is taking pity on me… I hate it… I'd wish they'd stop staring at me and whispering…_

_July 5__th__ 2069_

_The same nurse keeps coming in and checking up on me… I think her name is Lucy… She seems nice enough…_

_July 9__th__ 2069_

_Lucy is helping with my physiotherapy… I don't know why but when she's near me, I feel relaxed…_

_July 20__th__ 2069_

_My physiotherapy is coming to an end. Can walk properly again. Trouble breathing every now and then. Doesn't help having a bullet deflate your lung. Lucy keeps coming by, I don't know, but I sense something different from her. My thoughts aren't as dark anymore._

_July 25__th__ 2069_

_Lucy had to come to my bedside last night. My recurring nightmare was particularly bad. I had to be restrained. When I realised where I was, Lucy was next to me with tears in her eyes. I never want to see that again._

_July 30__th__ 2069_

_I told Lucy about how I felt. She seemed so happy, a dazzling smile lit her face. I promised to do everything I could to protect her._

_August 4__th__ 2069_

_I'm being released from hospital tomorrow, heading straight back to the front, 10 miles away. Lucy doesn't want me to go back. I told her I had to go, in order to protect her._

_August 5__th__ 2069_

_I left the hospital this morning. Lucy was there to see me off. I didn't want to leave her. We parted after a goodbye kiss. I'm being reassigned to the Advanced Recon Unit._

_August 16__th__ 2069_

_I found out that we've only got 12% of our armed forces left. We have no centralised command. Hardly any ammunition and barely any rations. We find out our mission later._

_August 29__th__ 2069_

_The mission was a disaster. 18 out of 30 dead, 5 wounded. We had to bayonet charge to break through the encirclement. We're getting pushed back again. Exeter is only 3 miles away._

_September 8__th__ 2069_

_Exeter is ablaze… Lucy didn't survive… Another face for the nightmares… My thoughts are pitch black again… Is this my fate… My curse… I'll never get close to anyone… I'll die alone… Facing the enemy… That is all I can do… I don't deserve forgiveness…_

xxxxx

Kaede closed the notebook. She and Oka had only read a small portion of it. But to read anymore would have unbearable she thought. They both turned around to face the still unconscious Samueru, with anguish in their eyes.

'How can anyone remain sane after all that?' Oka asked quietly.

'No one can.' Kaede replied.

'He's shuns emotional contact, so as to not fall deeper in to despair.' She added.

Oka remained quiet. She was thinking about what she had read. At 16, Samueru had been a cheerful young man, with hopes and dreams. 2 years later he had changed into a husk of his former self, devoid of any happiness.

'So sad, he must be in so much pain.' Oka mused.

'We probably will never know.' Kaede replied.

With the notebook still in her hand, Kaede walked over to her desk where the rest of Samueru's belongings were, after being removed from his blood stained overalls. As she went to put the notebook down, 3 items fluttered out from the back of it and fell to the floor, face down. Kaede bent down to pick them up, and automatically turned the items around. She gave a soft gasp at what she saw.

'What's the matter Sakura?' Oka asked.

Without replying Kaede handed Oka the items. Oka had the same reaction. In her hands was 3 worn pictures. The first one was a family photo. It took Oka a few seconds to realise that the young man in the photo was Samueru. He looked no older than 17, he was fresh faced, and he was beaming a beautiful smile.

'A smile that could win over hearts.' Oka thought.

He seemed genuinely happy. She noticed that his eyes seemed to sparkle. On either side of him were his parents. His father was a handsome man, middle aged, showing a few wrinkles. He looked like an older version of Samueru. His mother was a beautiful woman and she had the same radiant smile as Samueru. In front of Samueru were 2 young girls.

'His sisters.' Oka thought to herself.

Both girls looked younger than 15, they had carefree smiles of laughter. The whole picture showed a happy loving family, almost like a fairy tale.

Oka found her vision blurring. She realised that she was almost crying.

'How upsetting, it's almost unbearable.' She said quietly.

The second one was taken on board a ship, in front of the forward battery. It depicted the ship's crew. The officers were sat down with hands on their knees. The other ranks were formed neatly into ranks. A few were sat straddling the barrel of the main battery. Oka noticed that Samueru was at the front of the group on the barrel, hands thrown in the air in a cheer. The ships crest read HMS SOMMERDALE. On the bottom of the picture was written a date. _March 22__nd__ 2068._

'That must be the day it sank.' Oka thought.

The final picture was taken in a hospital garden. A man and woman were standing close next to each other, arms linked. Oka was quicker to recognise Samueru, he looked visibly exhausted and haggard. His eyes had lost some of their sparkle, but it wasn't completely gone. His right arm was in a sling and he was using a crutch to keep himself steady. The woman next to him must've been Lucy. She was half a head shorter than Samueru, but it suited her well. She had blonde hair that was tied in a bun. Lucy had her right arm linked through Samueru's left and she seemed to be enjoying the physical contact. The picture showed that both people were clearly in love with each other.

Oka handed the pictures back to Kaede. She was having a hard time keeping her emotions in check. She knew that Samueru had lost so much, but seeing the faces of his loved ones drove it home.

'Why would he keep the pictures?' Oka asked, as Kaede put the pictures back in to the notebook.

'Maybe so he won't forget his lost loved ones.' Kaede answered.

'We'll leave it at that, we won't mention this to anyone Miyabi.' Kaede continued.

Oka nodded slowly. She turned to face Samueru, who was still unconscious.

'How can you go on?' She asked him quietly.

After a few moments, she turned to leave the sickbay. As she was about to close the door on the way out, Oka heard Samueru mumbling. She stopped in her tracks and listened to what he was saying.

'No… Liam hang on… Help is coming…' Samueru mumbled haltingly.

Oka listened to his mumblings for a few more minutes. It was the same theme over and over again. Oka closed the door and walked to her room. Once inside she lay down on her bed and thought about what she had found out about Samueru. Thinking about it made her want to cry. She couldn't possibly imagine Samueru's situation. Oka laid on her bed, thinking about Samueru's past, she soon fell asleep from exhaustion and had one of her worst night's sleep.

xxxxx

Kaede was sat at her desk, writing in an accident report form. She had tried to block out Samueru's mumblings for the past hour, and failed. None of it made sense to her, but what she did hear was unsettling. After finishing the form, she swivelled in her chair and faced Samueru.

'What are you dreaming right now?' She asked him.

End of Chapter.

A few notes:

'Two, Six, Heave' is a Naval term, it's the same as 'One, Two, Three' when lifting heavy objects.

'Deck' is another Naval term, it means the floor.

Hopefully I'll have Chapter 5 up a lot quicker than this last one.


End file.
